Rescued hostage Noa Argamani has posted an emotional first message after she was reunited with her boyfriend Avinatan Or following his release from Hamas captivity.
The couple, who were dubbed ‘Romeo and Juliet’ after they were cruelly ripped apart from each other on October 7, 2023, and taken hostage by Palestinian militants, were pictured on Monday embracing for the first time in two years.
Argamani, 27, was rescued during an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June 2024, alongside three other hostages and had been campaigning for her partner’s freedom ever since her release.
In a touching Instagram post on Tuesday, Argamani expressed her feelings of joy and relief after finally being able to see Or again, and thanked US President Donald Trump for his efforts in brokering a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
‘Two years passed since the last moment I saw Avinatan, the love of my life. Two years since the moment terrorists kidnapped us, put me on a motorcycle, and tore me away from Avinatan before the eyes of the entire world’, she wrote in an Instagram caption as she shared a series of pictures from her reunion with Or.
‘But both of us, against all odds, came home and were reunited!’.
In the images, the couple can be seen smiling on a military airplane following Or’s release.
Rescued hostage Noa Argamani has posted an emotional first message after she was reunited with her boyfriend Avinatan Or following his release from Hamas captivity
Argamani shared a series of snaps from their reunion
Argamani thanked US President Donald Trump for his efforts in brokering a peace deal
The former hostage added: ‘I cannot put into words the range of emotions I felt when I saw him for the first time after so long. Each of us faced death countless times, and yet, after two years apart, we are finally taking our first steps together again in the State of Israel.’
‘At last, we can begin our healing together. The recovery will be long; we still haven’t truly processed what has happened here over these past two years. But we won. We won our personal war, and the war of all those who fought alongside us to reach this moment’, she hailed.
Argamani went on to thanks the IDF, her friends, family, and ‘the people of Israel’ for their support throughout the two-year-long ordeal and made a mention to the US for its role in brokering the peace deal.
‘To the US government, which opened its doors to me and was always there to listen, especially Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and the exceptional, President Donald J. Trump.’
The couple were seen finally reuniting on Monday, with footage showing how Or embraced his girlfriend, holding her tightly to him before he put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek as she beamed.
He held her face, staring into her eyes as she stared back at him overcome with joy. Or was also seen with his parents, Ditza and Yaron, in hospital after making a heart with his hands to his supporters outside.
His release comes as it was revealed Or serves with the elite Sayeret Matkal unit – considered one of the premier special forces units in Israel.
Or’s release comes as it was revealed he serves with the elite Sayeret Matkal unit – considered one of the premier special forces units in Israel
Released Israeli hostage, Avinatan Or, held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, kisses his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, who was also taken hostage and rescued in 2024, after his release as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Reim, Israel October 13, 2025
The couple were cruelly ripped apart from each other on October 7, 2023, and taken hostage by Palestinian militants, were pictured on Monday embracing for the first time in two years
The moment Noa Argamani and Avinitan Or last saw each other was filmed by Hamas, with a video showing Argamani being dragged away from Or on a motorbike
Or is shown in this video grab being led away by Hamas militants
For two years Or’s association with Sayeret Matkal has been hidden over fears of reprisals to him in captivity.
The Daily Mail told last week how Argamani had to make a dash back to Israel when his release from captivity was suddenly announced while she was campaigning for him in Washington.
She was with a delegation of 24 hostages and volunteers who had to scramble back in time for the release jumping on eight separate flights.
Posting a picture of herself on top of suitcases in Washington after landing back on Saturday, she wrote: ‘Now it’s time to come home.’
In her speech to US Cabinet members and senior White House officials including Marco Rubio on the October 7 anniversary last week, Argamani vowed to keep fighting for her boyfriend.
She said: ‘Avinatan and I came to the Nova music festival just to celebrate our life.
‘We found ourselves in the darkest tunnels of Gaza. I cannot even begin to describe those terrible pictures.’
She said she had not seen Avinatan since being dragged away, her arms outstretched as he looked on helplessly, surrounded by armed terrorists.
‘I asked about Avinatan everywhere I went,’ she said.
‘I didn’t know if it was murdered or kidnapped, and I was afraid to know the answer.’
Returned hostage Avinatan Or with IDF representatives after his release from captivity on Monday, October 13, 2025, after spending more than two years in Hamas captivity
Pictured: Or and Argamani before the couple were both kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023
‘Argamani also revealed that she feared every minute that her guards might ‘lose control and kill me’ and heartbreakingly declared: ‘I’m not the same person that I used to be.’
She said: ‘I saw it happen in front of my eyes, two of my friends that were with me since October 7 were murdered in captivity.
‘Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky were brutally murdered and executed and I survived.’
Argamani told those present: ‘I dedicate my life to bring my partner, Avinatan, and all the hostages back home.’
Hamas released all 20 of the living hostages on Monday as part of a breakthrough ceasefire after two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the devastated Gaza strip.
For Israelis, the release of the 20 remaining living hostages brought elation and a sense of closure to a war that many felt were forced into by Hamas, although many pledged to fight on for the return of deceased hostages still in Gaza.
But with the living hostages freed, the urgency with which many were driven to call for an end to the war will likely diminish, easing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance the next phase of the agreement.
Buses carrying dozens of freed Palestinian prisoners drove to the West Bank city of Ramallah and the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Prisoners Office said, as Israel released more than 1,900 prisoners.
Trump visited the region to discuss postwar plans and the U.S.-proposed deal with other leaders.
A surge of humanitarian aid was expected into famine-stricken Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.
While major questions remain about the future of Hamas and Gaza, the exchange of hostages and prisoners marked a key step toward ending the deadliest war ever between Israel and the militant group.
The war began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, when militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 captives.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign killed more than 67,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts.
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